The Art of Not Sitting Pretty

October 7th, 2011

Sensitively written, an engrossing story of a passionate disciplined life.

I am a fan of Alice Neel the artist, a complex woman with a strong passion.  Phoebe Hoban totally captures the artist’s colorful history.

 Alice’s life was messy, hard, often tempestuous and tragic, yet dedicated and committed to the bohemian artist’s life, with no excuses.

A fascinating story of her lifelong commitment to realism, and how she developed her mature work under an intense critical milieu of the NY art world.

Neel stands revealed as a master portraitist, a ‘collector of souls’ who continued to define the modern realist style.

Neel with her tenacity and passion was constant in her beliefs, not following art world trends.
As a pioneer Neel was a bridge to realism.

 Phoebe Hoban writes a rich, enlightening, well-researched biography, which keeps you curious about a compelling art world.

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3 Responses

  1. I Love her work! You can see the artist’s disposition in her subjects’ expressions.

  2. jill zignego says:

    I can’t believe I have never heard of Alice Neel, but she intrigues me after reading your review. I love a woman or man for that matter, who stands by their beliefs instead of folding into society’s mores.

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